"Hoylake - Punch Bowl Hole" by James Michael Brown, Antique Golf Print, 1911

Presented is a photogravure by James Michael Brown entitled "Hoylake-Punch Bowl Hole." The print depicts a 1910 foursomes match on the course, annotated in the bottom border "Mr. John Graham, Jnr., Mr. C.E. Dick, Mr. John Ball Amateur Champion, 1910, Mr. H.H. Hilton." The photogravure was published in the Life Association of Scotland calendar for that year.

James Michael Brown (1853-1947) was an accomplished Scottish water-colorist, famous for his golfing scenes of British and Scottish courses, competitions, and players. Brown often had famous golfers of the time sit for him during competitions and he used these studies to help him later reproduce accurate likenesses of the players in his paintings.

A keen golfer himself, Brown was a founder member of Mortonhall Golf Club in Edinburgh, where he was introduced to fellow member Dr. J. Turnbull Smith, the manager of the Life Association of Scotland. The Life Association of Scotland was established in Edinburgh, in 1838.  It later formed the Insurance and Banking Golf Club, which then became the Duddingston Golf Club. In 1898, to mark the opening of the extended Club House, Smith commissioned Brown to paint a scene from an exhibition golf match at the Club. Brown's painting was then printed as the centerpiece of the 1899 Life Association of Scotland calendar.

Although expensive to commission and publish, The Life Association of Scotland board justified the expense of the calendar by stating, “it must surely be the aim and desire of a Life Assurance Association to prolong the lives of those who take out policies with them and what sport is there that can compare with golf as a cure for all the ills that flesh is heir to…” The calendar was a great marketing and advertising success. As a result, Brown was then commissioned to paint an annual golfing picture for the club. Prints were made of the originals and issued in the calendar for each year. Brown painted 26 paintings for the Life Association and these all adorned the walls of the Edinburgh head office for many years. The paintings portray not only Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister at Walton Heath, but also a host of famous golfing personalities like Old Tom Morris, Harry Vardon, James Braid and J.H. Taylor. 

Most of Brown’s artwork was painted in watercolor or pencil en grisaille, a technique of painting in various shades of gray washes that at first glance resemble a photograph. Celebrated in his time, Brown exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts between 1890 and 1900 and the Royal Scottish Academy of Arts between 1879 and 1897. 

CONDITION: 

Good condition. Black and white photogravure. Paper is generally healthy, save small printing smudges. Full margins. 

Print is artfully framed in a custom wooden frame with dark green acid-free mats and UV glass. Framed Dimensions: 16 5/8" H x 21 3/4" W x 1" D.